The ZS6BKW multiband HF Antenna

 

Thanks to Doug (N4HNH) for this excellent installation of  the popular ZS6BKW extended dipole antenna.

If you want a bit more gain from you HF dipole, please consider building and deploying the popular ZS6BKW multiband HF antenna.

Doug shows how to use available trees at your location to support this fascinating antenna.

If you can't see the video, please insert this title URL into your browser search box:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH-LXAqiLs4.

Thanks for joining us today.

Aloha es 73 de Russ (KH6JRM).

Here are some comments from Doug (N4HNH):

In this video I show the process of installing a ZS6BKW multi-band antenna, using a tree to support the feed-point. The tree is large and expansive so I had to use my slingshot to thread the wire elements through the tree limbs. I was assisted by W4KWM and K5WAN. The antenna installation was for K5WAN, Wendell Neal. Wendell is one of the principal Net Control Operators for the Hurricane Watch Net, on 14.325MHz and 7.268MHz. K5WAN helped too, from his wheelchair. He installed the lightning arrestor and he used a masonry bit to drill through the brick exterior of the house, so we could get the coax through and into the shack. All connections were sealed with Coax Seal. The video also shows the performance difference between the ZS6BKW and a ground-mounted Hustler 6BTV vertical with a yard full of buried radials. The antenna was donated by NI4L.com. Chris Fox makes what I consider to be the best version of the ZS6BKW. I’m sure you know by now that not all antennas are created equal. That is definitely the case with the famed G5RV. A G5RV can be an effective antenna, but it depends upon how it is made. There are so many variations, yet I haven’t seen any that are made per the original specifications. In fact, British designer Louis Varney, callsign G5RV, only intended to create an antenna that would fit in his garden (backyard) and yield a 2:1 SWR on the 20-meter band. The same variations happen with the ZS6BKW. Brian Austin, formerly ZS6BKW, took the original design specifications of the G5RV antenna and entered them into antenna modeling software. He tweaked the wire lengths and the length/type of balanced feeder until he found a solution that yielded a less than 2:1 SWR across the 12, 17, 20, and 40 meter bands. It also happens to cover the FM portion of the 10-meter band (29.6 to 29.7 MHz) with less than a 2:1 SWR. NI4L tweaked even more and his version of the ZS6BKW is the most well-constructed version, providing broad coverage across each of the covered bands. With a wide-range antenna matching unit (aka “antenna tuner”) other bands come into play, including the 15, 30, 60, and 80 meter bands. I want to thank Chris Fox for his generous gift toward this project. We needed 100 feet of coaxial cable that was rated for direct burial. My favorite coax is LMR-400. DX Engineering was kind enough to donate 100 feet of their DXE-400MAX coax, with a PL-259 connector installed on each end. This coax is resistant to damage caused by Ultraviolet radiation. It is doubled-shielded, with a velocity factor of 84 and only 0.8dB of loss per 100 feet at 30Mhz - even less as you go lower in frequency. I want to thank Tim Duffy and Teri Grizer for their generosity. Link for the coax: https://www.dxengineering.com/parts/d... At the end of this video, you will be able to see a listing of some of the supporters of this channel who made this video possible. These are people who have supported the channel via Patreon membership, as what I call long-haulers. Long-haulers have supported my work on a long-term basis at S9 (VIP) level. I hope you enjoy this video and find it helpful. If you find my channel informative and entertaining, I hope you will consider joining my support group by clicking on: www.patreon.com/N4HNH There are 3 levels of support, including exclusive content. Visibility of premium content is determined by the level of membership you choose. The higher the membership level, the more content you have access to. S9 (VIP) members are also invited to participate in periodic Zoom meetings. Most videos are visible to the Patreon team members long before they are released for public viewing. Some videos are never released for public viewing. Annual S7 (Executive) and S9 (VIP) members have access to the menu optimizations PDFs I’ve written for the FT-891, FT-991A, FTdx5000MP, FTdx101D/MP, FTdx10, and FT-710 AESS. Annual S7 (Executive) members can request one menu optimizations PDF while annual S9 (VIP) members can request multiple menu optimizations documents, plus my FT8 configuration guide for either the FTdx10 or the FT-710 AESS. Future radios might be added. The documents are copyrighted. They shall not be divulged to anyone else without written permission from Doug McAlexander, callsign N4HNH. N4HNH Radio has a Web site where you can purchase T-shirts with some of the sayings you might hear in the videos. Some of the more prominent videos are featured there as well as a page geared toward ham radio training. Go to: https://www.n4hnhradio.com Another great way to help support this channel is to click like and subscribe. 73, de N4HNH

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